Liam Manning, Pep Lijnders and Gary O’Neil are believed to have made the final cut in Norwich City’s head coach search.
Sporting director Ben Knapper has also identified three other potential overseas options, although Christian Titz and Brian Priske are understood not to be in the running. City’s former play-off winning captain, Russell Martin, was never a candidate.
An announcement is likely this week to conclude a process undertaken by Knapper and his assistant, Neil Adams, following the dismissal of Johannes Hoff Thorup on April 22.
Manning is believed to have a release clause in his Robins contract, and the 39-year-old has also been mentioned as a viable alternative for relegated Leicester City this summer, if they opt to dismiss Ruud van Nistelrooy following the conclusion of the Premier League season.
National media reports linking Norfolk-born Manning with the Canaries job first surfaced last weekend, although Norwich have not yet approached his current club. The fee attached to his release clause would not present a barrier to a potential move, and it wouldn’t impact Knapper’s transfer budget.
Manning had a brief spell in City’s youth system as a player before moving to Ipswich Town, although he never made a senior appearance for the Tractor Boys. He also played locally, including for Wroxham and Leiston.
He started his coaching career in Belgium with Lommel as part of the City Football Group before moving to MK Dons. An impressive spell at Oxford United led to a move to Ashton Gate, where he led the Robins to an unlikely sixth-placed finish last season, which included a league double over Norwich.
O’Neil made 53 appearances for the Canaries during a two-year playing stint and appeared in the 2015 Championship play-off final win over Middlesbrough at Wembley.
The 42-year-old had previous managerial spells at Bournemouth and Wolves. He kept the Cherries in the Premier League in 2022/23 after initially being place in caretaker charge following the departure of Scott Parker. O’Neil was part of Parker’s backroom team that earned promotion from the Championship in a squad that featured Emi Marcondes.
O’Neil was appointed Wolves boss in August 2023 and guided Wanderers to 14th in his first season in the Premier League and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, but he was dismissed midway through his second season in December 2024.
Lijnders was part of Jurgen Klopp’s backroom team during a successful period at Liverpool but more recently had 29 games in charge of Red Bull Salzburg.
Knapper made it clear at a recent media round, following the club’s disappointing 13th place in the Championship, he wanted a new head coach in place well before the first team squad are scheduled to return for pre-season testing in late June.
